Shervantaigh Koopman survived a scare to stop Canadian challenger Brandon Cook in five rounds in the junior middleweight bout on Saturday night at the Emperor’s Palace in Gauteng, South Africa.
It was almost like a pair of South Africans in the first round. Cook started aggressively and went after Koopman, making him count eight with his left hook. He was on the attack, chasing the restless Koopman. A right hand sent Koopman’s gloves touching the canvas for a second fall. Koopman appeared to be teetering near the edge but kept his mind on him, holding on to his opponent and finishing his attacks as best he could.
Then, suddenly, he nailed Cook with a right-left hook combination, follow-up punches sending the Canadian down in a stunning reversal. Cook was up, and after the eight count of the first round, it was Koopman who attacked as the bell closed the round.
Koopman started the second by sitting down on his jab and blocking Cook with long shots to the head and body. A straight right opened a deep gash above Cook’s left eye which began to bleed. The action was stopped allowing the ring doctor to take a long look. When the fight resumed, Koopman nailed Cook with a straight right to the jaw. The guest wasn’t done yet and retaliated with wild hooks. Some came down and some didn’t.
In the wild third round, Cook came out of his corner and shot Koopman against the ropes. Koopman kept things tight and nailed Cook with a right as he came charging in but the bloodied Canadian was still dangerous and nailed Koopman seconds later with a right of his own. Koopman landed a right uppercut to the body and followed that up with a left uppercut to the head. Cook just dipped it and answered with his right hook. Koopman, however, now found a way to deal with the pressure and caused Cook to stumble after eating a left hook. A right hand to the body knocked Cook to his knees and it was clear that the local man had found the key to the fight. Cook stood up and counted to eight as the bell rang.
Koopman went into full attack mode in the fourth. A straight right hook-uppercut-left combination set off the onslaught, sending Cook reeling into the ropes and into the corner. The Canadian steel man kept himself in the fight with occasional power shots, but it was punishing.
Koopman landed hard jabs and a long right to start the fifth. He ate Cook’s right but responded by punishing his opponent’s body. Those body shots were Cook’s undoing. A right uppercut to the beltline sends him down for another count. Once again, he rose to his feet, but it was about to end. A right uppercut to the head from Koopman sent him stumbling back to the center corner where referee Jean-Robert Laine stopped the fight at the 2:59 mark when Koopman rained shots on him.
Koopman, who came through the fire to win, improved to 15-0 with 10 shutouts while Cook dropped to 26-3.
Shervantaigh Koopman is now the top seed in South Africa at 154kg, and a lot is expected of him.
In a big fight supporting another junior middleweight, Brandon Thyssse ended up being the champion of South Africa stopping Nkhensahosi Makondo in the eighth round. The fight had a psychological effect on Thysse who took the vacant national title in his third attempt at winning the belt. His late father, Andre Thysse, was a Commonwealth and South African super middleweight champion.
Although it was difficult and ugly at times, the whole battle was from the beginning. Thysse started fast, attacking Makondo with strong rights to the body, thrown straight or as hooks. Makondo struggled to get a range until he got his right. This caused two fists to appear from Thysse, entering the middle of Makondo.
The two faced each other in the second round, throwing blows at each other, until Thysse succeeded by landing right on the head, forcing Makondo to kneel. Makondo didn’t stay quiet though and after a while he severed Thysse’s head with his right uppercut.
In the third, the fight continued. Although Makondo once entered the top, Thysse beat him. A right to the jaw eventually sent Makondo to the canvas. He got to his feet, but a left hook-right hook combination made him stagger as the barbell helped him.
The pattern continued for the next four rounds. Makondo bit down hard on his gum shield and never stopped trying. He had occasional success, landing hard, straight rights and body shots but Thysse simply had better output, punch variety and offensive techniques.
The end came in the eighth round when a left hand hook combination tied Makondo’s legs. Thysse quickly transformed back into the body. A left hook midway through the round made Makondo turn his back on his opponent and when his corner threw in the towel, the fight turned around at 1:06.
Brandon Thysse improved to 17-4-1 with 13 stoppages and Makondo dropped to 9-7-1.
South African junior welterweight champion Ntethelelo Nkosi made short work of Sanele Msimang, knocking out the challenger in the first round to retain his belt.
The southpaw stance of the stoic opponent was no problem for King who started firing as soon as the bell rang. He landed a straight right to the body and a left hook over the top. The challenger responded with his right hook, two of which landed but did nothing to stop the champion’s forward march.
A left hook staggered Msimang back to the ropes. A one-two from Nkosi, followed by a right uppercut, a double left hook and a final right smashed Msimang to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight without finishing the count at 2:56 as it is clear that Msimang has not returned.
Ntethelelo Nkosi is now 7-2, he scored his fourth goal and Msimang dropped to 16-5.
Undercard results:
Bonginkosi Nhlapo W SD 6 Tuvia Wewege (light heavyweight)
Dean Promnick W SD 6 Morgan Hunter (middleweight)
Juan Alberts W UD 4 Pieter Breytenbach (heavyweight)
The tournament was presented by Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions
